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i'm not sure how dogmatic i am about the 'consequences of satan's work' or living a life which is fearful of experiencing things outside the realm of worship , with god being one's primary focus.  

i am not claiming that god, i.e. 'the universal force' (or whatever form people choose to define as a higher sense of consciousness) shouldn't be in the framework of our minds .. however, what i would like to think about is the role god plays in how we choose our actions; whether or not they are based on the higher principles of enlightenment. if we choose to relegate our actions according to those very principles, then i do believe that in many ways we are our own masters, if only because we've been given that very opportunity as result of our sheer presence on this earth and the constant yet elusive nature of free will. moreover, i think that people do attain a sense of happiness independent of 'active, conscious god-worship'. this kind of happiness is often a by-product of experience, is quite valid and acceptable and although not rooted in a willful exclusion of god, it is a happiness based entirely upon unconsciously enjoying the fruits and the beauty of life, similar to that of a child loving the fallen snow without actively thinking of the wonderous power of nature. to believe that sort of happiness breeds hopelessness or is any less significant than the type of joy experienced by that of religious fundamenalists, is sheer folly.  

lastly, money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery  -  'the almighty hand of satan', might not necessarily be  about 'the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.'  .. these conditions may , however, stem from the inevitable consequences of the dangerous combination of three elemental human conditions/ailments : ignorance, fear and greed. i am a firm believer that logic and the full, proper and balanced development of the mind/self can play a large role in overcoming these moral hurdles, regardless of deity worship. it seems as though any implementation of religious tenets as a means of keeping these man-made problems 'conveniently' at bay is merely an emotional plea that preys upon feelings of guilt and further hinders our evolvment as a species. it is preferable to focus on a more universal approach, which has less to do appealing to language and culture (that which strongly accentuates religious boundaries and intolerances) and has more to do with spotlighting awareness/education, balanced empowerment and love as a better way to solve the potentially inhumane by-products of life's unpredictability and the unfortunate results of actions committed by the less-evolved. 

the bad things which we endure as human beings have to do with a lack of focus on god, but a lack of focus in bettering ourselves.